What on Earth is a Fish Extender?

Do you have a Disney Cruise Line vacation booked? Are you having a tough time waiting the many months for your sail date to hurry up and arrive? Unlike a Walt Disney World vacation, there are no advance dining reservations to make, or Fast Passes to book, or “which day in which park” to plan. This can be very frustrating for a fanatical Disney planner like me. Thank goodness for Fish Extenders!

You are probably asking “What on earth is a Fish Extender?” Well, most simply put, it’s a set of pouches or pockets (usually one pocket for each member of your family) that you hang on the brass fish (or you may have another sea creature) outside your stateroom door. The Fish Extender itself, can be handmade (Pinterest is a good place to look for inspiration if you wish to make yours), or can be purchased from an Etsy shop or Ebay. This is where other cruise guests can leave small gifts for you and your family during the cruise.

Sound like fun? Well then, the first thing you would need to do is join a group for your specific sail dates. For most cruise sailings, someone will start a Facebook group. You will just need to search for your ship and sail dates (eg. Disney Dream – Feb 1-5, 2016) and ask to be added to the group. These groups tend to pop up several months before sailing and are a great way to meet some of your fellow ship mates. You can ask questions, share cruising tips and plan meets with people that are anxiously awaiting their vacation too! Oh, and join the Fish Extender Group!

Then the fun begins – making or purchasing your Fish Extender gifts! These gifts are generally inexpensive, handmade or purchased items that can be Disney or cruise themed, or if you like, they can be something that says something about where you live! My daughter and I are big crafters and love to scour Pinterest and Google for ideas of gifts to make. We sometimes spend months putting together our Fish Extender gifts and I can’t think of a better way to help pass the time waiting for our Disney cruise!

Some of the Fish Extender gifts we received!

And…you want to know the very BEST part? When you are finally on your magical Disney cruise, there is nothing better than coming back to your stateroom after a fantastic day on Castaway Cay, or after an entertaining show in the Walt Disney Theater, to find your fish extender pockets crammed full of wonderful little gifts! So exciting!

Have I convinced you yet to give Fish Extenders a try on your next cruise?

What are your tips for Fish Extenders and what are some of the cool gifts you’ve come back to your room to? Share your thoughts in the comments!

About The Author

PamH

I have loved everything Disney since childhood, but really caught the Disney bug the first time I visited Disneyland with my family in 2000. Since then I have been to Disneyland, Disney World and on the Disney Dream several times and even spent a day visiting Disneyland Paris! I love to decorate my home with little Disney touches (Mickey Mouse anything is my favorite!) This helps to keep the magic alive in between trips to my home away from home!